More than 400 people could benefit from life-extending advanced lung cancer treatment

NICE has published a draft final appraisal document (FAD) recommending Durvalumab (Imfinzi, AstraZeneca) as an option for treating non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults.

More than 400 people in England with locally advanced unresectable NSCLC, whose tumours express PD-L1 on 1% or more of cells and whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based chemoradiation, could receive the immunotherapy treatment.

NICE is recommending durvalumab for routine use on the NHS after clinical evidence found it increases survival time for patients and the time it takes for the cancer to progress.

Durvalumab is a PD-L1 inhibitor; it helps the body’s immune system to find and attack cancer cells, by blocking the PD-L1 protein which disguises cancer.

NICE reviewed the additional evidence collected while durvalumab has been available as an option for use within the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), which addressed clinical uncertainties identified in the original appraisal, before recommending the treatment for routine use on the NHS.

The technology appraisal committee noted there were limited treatment options for people with locally advanced unresectable NSCLC and the clinical evidence showed that durvalumab lengthens progression-free survival. A review of five years of data found that the median progression-free survival was just over two years for people with locally advanced unresectable NSCLC who had had at least 2 cycles of concurrent chemoradiation and were taking durvalumab compared with five and a half months for those receiving standard care.

The clinical evidence also found durvalumab lengthened overall survival compared with standard care. The median overall survival for people with locally advanced unresectable NSCLC who had had at least 2 cycles of concurrent chemoradiation and were taking durvalumab was just over 5 years compared with just under two and a half years for those receiving standard care.

Durvalumab is administered as an intravenous infusion every four weeks, until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or for up to 12 months.  

A confidential price discount patient access scheme has been agreed between NHS England and NHS Improvement and the company.